Lest you think my warnings about the consequences of failing to prepare for the future are nothing but empty threats, I urge you to read about the shuttering of the Men’s Dress Furnishings Association today. Here are three key points from The Wall Street Journal article that stand out for me:

+U.S. market share for American-made ties has fallen to about 40% today, from 75% in 1995.

+U.S. sales of ties have plummeted to $677.7 million in the 12 months ending March 31, from their peak of $1.3 billion in 1995.

+”Some members of the neckwear association sensed the trend two years ago when, at the group’s annual luncheon in New York, a number of people turned up tieless.” [Emphasis added]

So, just to be clear, American tie makers have been losing market share and sales for more than a decade, but MDFA’s members just realized what was happening two years ago? What have they been talking about since the mid-90s? Perhaps the association’s board of directors had the blood flow to their brains cut off by the neckties they were wearing during that time.